Fluid-operated signal.



=No. 7|0,397. Patented Sept. 30, [$02. 6. L. BELL &. J. HALSTEAD.

FLUID OPERATED SIGNAL.

(Application filed July 29, 1901.)

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No. 7|0,397. Patented Sept. 30, I902.

C. L. BELL & J. HALSTEAD.

FLUID OPERATED SIGNAL.

(Application filed. July 29, 1901.

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UNITED STATES CHESTER L. BELL AND JAMES HALSTEAD,

OF EL PASO, TEXAS.

FLUID- OPERATED SIGNAL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No.

710,397, dated September 30, 1902.

Application filed July 29,1901. Serial No. 70,153. (No model.)

To all whmn it may concern:

Be it known that we, CHESTER L. BELL and JAMES HALSTEAD, citizens of the United States, residing at El Paso, in the county of El Paso and State of Texas, have invented a new and useful Fluid-Operated Signal, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to signals, and more particularly to that class operated by steam, compressed air, or other fluid.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide simple means whereby the engineer in his cab and the conductor in the caboose of a train can communicate with each other, the compressed air of the ordinary fluid-pressure brake system being employed for the purpose.

An important feature of the invention resides in a signal system in which a plurality of indicators of novel construction are employed both for the purpose of-transmitting and receiving messages, said indicators each automatically showing the position of the other.

Another feature is a fluid-operated alarm operated simultaneously with the signal to draw attention to the latter.

In the accom panying drawings there is illustrated the improved signal applied to a freighttrain, and the construction and operationthereof are fully described in the following specification. It will be readily understood, however, that the invention may be employed for other purposes and is open to such changes and modifications as the scope of the appended claims will permit.

In the drawingsfl ignre 1 is a general view of the system'applied to a train. Fig. 2 is a perspective view, on an enlarged scale, of one of the indicators and the controlling mechanism for the air-supply. Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view of the same. Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line X X of Fig. 3. 1 Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. l, showing the position of the valve to permit the entrance of air to the conveyer-tube. Fig. 6 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 6 6 of Fig. 3. Fig. 7 is a horizontal section taken on the line 7 7 of Fig. 3. Fig. 8 is a similar View taken on the line 8 S of Fig. 3. Fig. 9 is a detail sectional view through the oil-duct of the than that shown valve. 7 Fig. 10 is a detail view more clearly illustrating the conveyor-pipe connection between the several cars.

Similar numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

The system as a whole is clearly shown in Fig. 1, consisting, broadly, of a conveyor-pipe 10, that extends beneath the several cars of a train and is connected at its opposite ends with indicators and alarms designated, respectively, 11 and 12 and located in the cab of the engine and the cupola of a caboose. These indicators and alarms are operated by the compressed'air from the usual storage tanks or reservoirs 13, located upon the locomotive and the caboose,

the compressed air being controlled by the means hereinafter pointed out.

In the practical embodiment of the invention the conveyer-pipe consists of sections secured beneath the several cars and connected together by short sections of flexible tubing 14, the ends of which have couplings 15, detachably secured together by means of pivoted hooks 16, that engage in notches 17 of the terminal flanges 18 of said couplings,these hooks being yieldingly held in engagement by the springs 19, all of which is clearly shown in Fig. 10. By this arrangement the several sections of the conveyer-pipe are detachably secured together, so as to permit the necessary uucou pling of the cars;

The indicators 11 are each constructed in the following manner: An upright plungerbarrel 20 is provided, having secured to its upper end a circular boxing 21, provided with a transparent face 22, secured in place by a fastening-ring 23. Beneath this transparent face is located a dial-plate 24, the exposed face of which is divided into sections by radial lines 25, each section being provided with a number, as shown in Fig. 2. Rotatably mounted within the boxing 21 is a stub-shaft 26, upon the outer end of which is secured a pointer 27, that is located over the exposed face of the dial-plate. The vstub-shaft26 is furthermore provided with a pinion 28, which meshes with a rack 29, formed upon the stem 30 of a plunger 31, that is slidably mounted in the plunger-barrel 20. Acoil return-spring '32 is secured at one end to the stub-shaft,

while its other end is fastened, by means of a pin 33, to the boxing 21. p

The plunger-barrel 20 is mounted upon and secured to a valve-casing34, in which is located a valve 35, that controls the supply of compressed air to the conveyor-pipe and the plunger-barrel. The casing 34 is provided in the side'oppos-ite the plunger-barrel with a plurality of openings 36. In the central one is secured the conveyor-pine 10, while in one of the others is attached the supply-pipe 37, leading from the reservoir 13, and in the other is located the end of a discharge-pipe 38. The valve 1s in the form of a hollow boxing that fits snugly within the casing and is provided with a transverse partition 39, forming an air-chamber 40, provided in its opposite walls with ports 41 and 42, the ports 41 affording communication with the plungerbarrel 31 and the ports 42 coacting with the conveyor-pipe and theinletand exhaustpipes, respectively; To this end the distance be tween the two outer ports 42 is the same as the distance between the conveyer-pipe and the supply and exhaust pipes, so that when the valve is turned in one direction the supply-pipe and the conveyor-tube will be in communication, as shown in Fig. 5, while the exhaust-pipe 38 will be cut off. In like manner the valve may be turned so that the conveyer and exhaust pipes are in communication, while the supply-pipe is cut out. It will also be observed that by the specific arrangement of the ports when the central port42 is in alinement with the conveyor-pipe 10 both the supply and exhaust pipes are out of communication with the chamber 40, but that in all of the three positions above mentioned the plunger-barrel 31 will be in communica tion with the chamber through the ports 41.

In order to operate the valve, said valve is provided with astein 43, that projects through the upper wall of the casing and has an angular head to which is secured a handle 44, that is movable between a pair of shoulders 45, arranged upon the edge of the casing. A locking-dog 46 is pivoted in a socket 47, made for the purpose in the under side of the handle, and has a sharpened edge 48, arranged to engage in a notch 49, formed in the upper face of the casing at a central point between the shoulders 45. This dog is normally forced outward by a spring 50, and its movement is limited by a transverse pin 51, that passes through a slot 52, located therein. The handle is so arranged that when the dog 46 engages the notch in the central position, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, both the supply and exhaust pipes will be cut off from the plunger-barrel, but the conveyor-tube will be in communication therewith, as shown in Fig. 4. On the other hand, when the handle is thrown against either one of the shoulders 45 the valve will be correspondingly moved to establish communication with either the supply or exhaust pipes, as already described.

For the purpose of thoroughly lubricating the valve the casing 34 is provided in its upper wall with a supply-opening 53, preferably located at a central point between the shoulders 45. The upper face of the valve is provided with oil -conducting channels 54, that converge toa com mon point 55, as shown in Fig. 6, which pointis arranged to be brought into alinement with the supply-opening 53 when the valve is moved in .one direction. By this means the upper faceofthe valve may be readily lubricated by bringing the point 55 of the oil-groovesinto alinement with the supply-opening and introducing oil therethrough in the usual manner. To lubricate the under face of the valve, the casing 34 is provided in its lower face with a plurality of grooves 56, that are connected with the chanhe] 57, having a portion located directly beneath the supply-opening 53. A passageway 58 is made directly through the valve by means of a washer 59, that bridges the space between the two'walls thereof, said passageway being arranged to be brought into alinement with the supply-opening 53 and channel 57. When in such alinement, it will be seen that oil introduced into the supplyopening will pass directly through the valve and be distributed through the various channels over the entire under face of the valve. In order to lubricate the valve, therefore, it is only necessary to throw the handle in one direction to first bring one of the oil-conducting passage-ways into alinement with the supply-opening and after supplying oil thereto to move the handle in the other direction and bring the other passage-way into alinement.

In connection with the above-described indicator there is employed an alarm to draw a persons attention to the same when it is operated. To this end a branch pipe 60 leads from the conveyor-tube 10 to a plunger-barrel 61, in which is slidably mounted a plunger 62, having a stem 63, that is fastened at its outer end to a crank-arm 64, secured to a rock-shaft 65. This shaft is mounted in a frame 66, suspended from the under side of the valve-casing 34, and to said frame is secured a gong 67. A striker 68 is attached to a pivotally-mounted tappet 69, operated byatappet-wheel 70, rotatably mounted upon the rock-shaft 65, said tappet-wheel having a clutch connection with the shaft, the clutch consisting of a ratchet-wheel 71, secured to the shaft, and a spring-pressed dog 72, that engages therewith and is pivoted upon the tappet-wheel. By this arrangement it will be seen. that when the plunger is forced outwardly the rock-shaft will be turned, and the tappet-Wheel being clutched thereto will be rotated therewith. As aconsequence the striker will be oscillated andthe bell rung. A coiled spring 73, located in the plungerbarrel, bears against the plunger 62 to return the several parts to their normal position when the air-pressure has been relieved.

The operation of the device is as follows:

Under normal conditions the handle is located in its central position, and as a result the several indicators will be in communication with the conveyer-pipe, as shown in Fig. 4:, While the supply and exhaust pipes will be cut out. Assuming that the conductor wishes to communicate with the engineer, he turns the valve until the supply-pipe is in communication with the conveyer-pipe and the indicator, as shown in Fig. 5, whereupon the compressed air will flow from the reservoir into the conveyer-pipe and the plunger-barrel 31. The pressure will therefore cause the plunger of both indicators to be moved outwardly against the tension of the returnsprings 32, and the pointers will be rotated. When the pointer has reached a predetermined number upon the transmitting-indicator, the conductor will know that the corresponding number has been reached upon the engineers indicator, and the supply of compressed air is thereupon cut off. During this movement of the indicator compressed air will flow into the plunger-barrels 61 and the alarms will be rung, thereby notifying the engineer that a message is being transmitted. After the desired number has been reached the valve is thrown to open the exhaust, and thus allow the confined air to escape, so that the pointers may return to their original position, after which the above operation may be repeated. In this manner, by having a predetermined code of numbers and combinations thereof, any desired message may be transmitted either from the conductor to the engineer, or vice versa. At the same time, if necessary for any reason, the indicator may be cut oil? from the conveyerpipe by turning the valve only a portion of the distance between any of its three operative positions. By this means it will be seen that a simple fluid-operated signal is provided in which the indicators are employed both for the purpose of transmitting and receiving messages and but one valve and one conveyer are used for the same, said valve being employed both for controlling the supply and the exhaust to the indicators. In connection with the above a simple alarm s provided that is also operated by the compressed air or fluid and will give warning that a message is being transmitted.

From the foregoing it is thought that the construction, operation, and many advantages of the herein-described invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art without further description, and it will be understood that various changes in the size, shape, proportion, and minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing anyot" the advantages of the invention.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a fluid-operated signal, the combination with a conveyer for the fluid, having an exhaust, of means for opening and closing the exhaust, a fluid-operated receiving-indicator connected with the conveyer, means for supplying the fluid to the conveyer, and a fluid operated transmitting indicator connected with the conveyer and located contiguous to the fluid-supplying means.

2. In a fluid-operated signal, the combination with a conveyer for the fluid having an exhaust, of a fluid-operated receiving-indicator connected with the conveyer, a fluid-reservoir having communication with the conveyer, a valve for simultaneously controlling said communication and the exhaust, operating means for the valve, and a fluid-operated transmitting-indicator connected with the conveyer and located contiguous to the valveoperating mechanism.

3. In a fluid-operated signal, the combination with a conveyer for the fluid, of a fluidoperating receiving-indicator connected with the conveyer, a fluid-reservoir having a supply passage-way communicating with the conveyer, said conveyer being provided with an exhaust passage-way, mechanism for alternately opening and closing the supply and exhaust, operating means mechanism,andafluid-operated transmittingindicator connected with the conveyer and located contiguous to the valve-operating mechanism.

4. In a fluid-operated signal, the combination with a conveyer-tube, of a fluid-operated receiving-indicator connected with the tube, a fluid-reservoir, a valve-casin g, supply-tubes extending from the reservoir and the conveyer-tube to the casing, said conveyer-tube being provided with an exhaust that communicates with the casing, and a rotary valve located in the casing for controlling the exhaust and the inlet to the con veyer-tube.

5. In a fluid-operated signal, the combination with a conveyer-tube, of a fluid-operated receiving-indicator connected with the tube, a fluid-reservoir, a valve-casing, supply-tubes extending from the reservoir and the conveyer-tube to the casing, said conveyer-tube being provided with an exhaust that comm unicates with the casing, a valve located in the casing and controlling the exhaust and the supply pipe from the reservoir, an operating-handle for the valve, and a fluid-operated transmitting-indicator having communication with the conveyer-tube and located adjacent to the handle.

6. In a fluid-operated signal, the combination with a conveyer for the fluid, of means for supplying fluid to the conveyer, a fluidoperated receiving-indicator connected to the conveyer, and a fluid-operated alarm also connected to the conveyer, said indicator and alarm being operable simultaneously by the introduction of fluid to the conveyer.

7. In a fluid-operated signal, the combination with a conveyer for the fluid, of means for supplying fluid to the conveyor, a fluidoperated receiving-indicator connected to the for the controlling IIO conveyer, and a fluid-operated alarm also connected to the conveyer independently of the indicator, whereby said indicator and alarm can be operated simultaneously by the introduction of fluid to the conveyor.

8. In a fluid-operated signal, the combination with a conveyor for the fluid, of means for supplying fluid to the conveyer, a fluidoperated receiving-indicator connected to the conveyer, a fluid-operated alarm also connected to the conveyer independently of the indicator, whereby said indicator and alarm are operable simultaneously upon the introduction of fluid to the conveyer, and means for controlling the supply of fluid to the conveyer.

9. In a fluid-operated signal, the combination with a conveyer-tube having an exhaust, of a plurality of fluid-operated indicators, each indicator comprising a plunger-barrel connected with the conveyer-tube, a plunger slidably mounted in the tube and freely movable toward the ends thereof, a dial, and a pointer arranged upon the dial and freely. rotatable thereon in either direction, a connection between the pointer and the plunger to rotate the pointer in either direction upon the movement of the plunger one way or the other, separate fluid-reservoirs, each having a communication with the conveyer-tube, independent valves controlling the several communications, and operating devices for said valves, said devices being located adjacent to the indicators.

10. In a fluid-operated signal, the combination with a conveyer for the fluid, of means for supplying fluid to the conveyer, a plunger-barrel connected to the conveyer, a plunger slidably mounted in the barrel and freely movable toward either end thereof, a dial, a rotary pointer mounted on the dial and freely movable in either direction and a connection between the plunger and pointer, whereby they will move simultaneously in either direction.

11. In a fluid-operated signal, the combination with a conveyer for the fluid, of means for supplying fluid to the conveyer, a plunger-barrel connected to the conveyer, a plunger slidably mounted in the barrel and provided with a stem having a rack, a dial, a rotary pointer mounted on the dial and having a pinion engaging the rack of the plunger, and a coiled return-sprin g engaging the pointer.

l2.- In a fluid-operated signal, the combination with a conveyer for the fluid, of means for supplying fluid to the .conveyer, a plunger-barrel having communication with the conveyer, a valve controlling the connection between the barrel and the conveyer, aplunger slidably mounted in the barrel, a dial, and a rotary pointer mounted on the dial and having a connection with the plunger, said dial and plunger being freely and simultaneously movable in either direction.

13. In apparatus of the class described, the combination with a conveyer, of a fluid-operated indicator connected with the conveyer,

.a fluid-reservoir, a pipe leading from the reservoir and having a valve-casing secured thereto, said casing being connected with the conveyer and. having an oil-aperture in one end, a valve rotatably mounted within the casing and having an oil-groove in one'face that alines with the oil-aperture of the casing when the valve is moved to a predetermined position, said valve being also provided with an opening extending through the same, one end of the opening being arranged to aline with the aperture in the valve-casing upon the movement of the valve to a certain position, said casing being provided with oil-conducting grooves that aline with the opening in the valve.

14. In a fluid-operated signal, the combination with a conveyer for the fluid, of means for supplying fluid to the conveyer, a plunger-barrel connected to the conveyer, a plunger slidably mounted in the barrel and provided with a stem having a rack, a dial, a rotary pointer mounted on the dial and having a pinion engaging the rack of the plunger, and automatic means for returning the pointer after its movement by the plunger.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as our own we have hereto affixed our signatures in the presence of two witnesses.

CHESTER L. BELL. JAMES IIALSTEAD.

Witnesses:

V J os. U. SWEENEY, J. C. THORNTON. 

